Dental professionals as clinical educators: A transcendental inquiry into training needs

Clinical instructors are responsible for educating dental hygiene students in the patient care environment. While these instructors have experience in the dental field, they often do not have pedagogical training, or a background, related to education. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of dental professionals who transitioned from clinical practitioners to clinical instructors at one US dental hygiene program in 2022. As the theoretical underpinning for this study, andragogy offered a lens through which to tailor the creation of training opportunities distinctive to the needs of adult learners. The central research question for this study was, "What are the experiences of dentists and dental hygienists who have transitioned from clinical practice to the role of clinical instructors?" The subquestions guiding this study were "What forms of education, professional development, or support are necessary to help guide the transition from healthcare professional to clinical instructor?" and "How can this education, professional development, or support be delivered to clinical instructors in a way that meets their needs as adult learners?"

A transcendental phenomenological approach enabled a deeper understanding of participants' experiences and their thought processes as they transitioned from clinical practitioners to their roles as clinical instructors. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit dentists and dental hygienists who served as clinical instructors in a dental hygiene program at a midwestern public university. Data collection was triangulated using individual interviews, photograph journals, and a virtual focus group. Data analysis was conducted using epoché, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variance, and synthesis of the structural and textural descriptions gathered during data collection.

A total of 13 clinical faculty members participated in all three parts of the study. Five themes were derived from the data collection: life responsibilities, challenges faced, training received, training needed, and training delivery preferences. These themes helped to create an understanding of the phenomena of transitioning from clinical practitioner to clinical instructor as the participants experienced it in addition to training delivery preferences.

The study's findings highlighted the importance of training dentists and dental hygienists to become clinical instructors while using andragogical principles. IRB approval: This project received Institutional Review Board (IRB) exemption from Liberty University (IRB-FY22-23-285).